HIST251: History of Africa to 1890

Despite the damage caused by the Atlantic slave trade, Africans had, by
the late eighteenth century, constructed diverse, cosmopolitan,
functioning societies across the continent that interacted with one
another as well as with trading partners and co-religionists around the
world. Historians often look to the 1890s and the formal colonization of
Africa as the end of this diversity and independence. However, African
independence was arguably first threatened during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. During this period, industrial revolution created
massive productivity imbalances between western Europe and other parts
of the world. Africans were conscripted or recruited into global trade
as producers of raw materials, rather than as manufacturers of finished
goods. As a result, Africa generally lost wealth while western Europe
gained it. This had a massive impact on the economic (and ultimately
political) independence of African societies.

In this unit, we will explore the industrial revolution and its impact
in Africa, and examine the ways that Africans participated in it. We
will also look at two specific situations—the production of oilseeds
(palm kernels and peanuts) in West Africa and the settlement of southern
Africa—that serve as particularly advanced examples of this process.
Finally, we will explore the situation in Africa on the eve of
colonialism.

Unit 7 Time Advisory
Time Advisory: This unit should take you approximately 11 hours to
complete.

☐ Subunit 7.1: 2 hours

☐ Subunit 7.2: 1 hour

☐ Subunit 7.3: 6 hours

☐ Subunit 7.4: 2 hours

Unit7 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:
- Explain the role of Africans in the industrial revolution.

Analyze the impact of the industrial revolution in western and
southern Africa prior to 1890.

Instructions: Robin Blackburn’s article addresses the various ways
in which the transatlantic slave trade helped fuel the rapid growth
of the Industrial Revolution in Western Europe. Please read the
entire article.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: In this article, Rizwana Monir argues that the West’s
various economic policies continued to fuel the institution of
slavery in Africa long after its abolition. Please read it in its
entirety.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Read the following sections: “Introduction,” “The
Trek Boers and the Great Trek,” “The Anglo-Boer War,” and “The
Legislative Framework and Opposition to White Rule.” This resource
provides a brief colonial history of South Africa leading up to the
twentieth century.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

7.3.1 Khoi-San Encounters with Europeans in Southern Africa
- Reading: South African History Online: “A Land Dispossession
History 1600s–1990s”
Link: South African History Online: “A Land Dispossession History
1600s–1990s”
(HTML)

Instructions: This article outlines the history of contact between
Europeans and South Africans and provides an excellent historical
context in which to read the following assignment.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Read the following sections: “Great Trek 1835-1846,”
“Trek and the ‘empty lands’,” “Dispossession and land seizure.” The
Great Trek was an attempt by Dutch-speaking colonists—known as
Boers—to migrate into the interior of South Africa.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

7.3.3 The Conquest of the Xhosa
- Reading: South Africa History Online: “Conquest of the Eastern
Cape 1779-1878”
Link: South Africa History Online: “Conquest of the Eastern Cape
1779-1878”
(HTML)

Instructions: This article covers the Frontier Wars (or Xhosa
Wars), which took place in South Africa between various colonial
administrations and native insurgents during the late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries. Please read the entire article.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.